JPH09150697A - Air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and firmly fix a cover body on a base plate. SOLUTION: A folded air bag 33 is placed on a base plate 21. The air bag 33 is covered with a cover body 41 from above, and an installation piece part 44 of the cover body 41 is fit on an outer periphery of a support piece part 23 of the base plate 21. A reinforcing plate 51 is arranged on an outer periphery of the installation piece part 44, and the support piece part 23, the installation piece part 44 and the reinforcing plate 51 are fastened by rivets R. An engagement piece 55 and an engagement groove 56 to engage with a connecting plate part 45 of the cover body 41 are formed on the reinforcing plate 51. The reinforcing plate 51 becomes self-standing by engagement, and work to fasten the rivets R is facilitated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag device in which an airbag is covered with a cover body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an airbag device provided in, for example, a steering wheel of an automobile. This type of airbag device includes a metal base plate that is attached to a boss portion of a steering wheel body. An inflator that injects gas, an airbag that inflates with the gas, and a resin that covers the airbag are provided on the base plate. It is attached with a cover body made of. The airbag is stored inside the cover body in a folded state, and is expanded by the pressure of the gas injected from the inflator to cleave the cover body in the event of a vehicle collision or the like, and is deployed in front of the driver. And protects the driver from the impact of a collision.

Further, the base plate is formed with a side wall portion having a substantially square tube shape, and the cover body is integrally formed with a substantially square tube-shaped mounting piece portion which is fitted into the side wall portion. ing. Therefore, cover the base plate with the airbag and inflator, etc. with the cover body, and with the mounting piece fitted to the outer peripheral side of the side wall, place a reinforcing plate (abutting plate) made of iron plate or the like on the outside of the mounting piece. The cover body is fixed to the base plate by fitting the side wall portion, the mounting piece portion, and the reinforcing plate together with rivets.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, it is necessary to fix the rivet while positioning and holding the reinforcing plate at a predetermined position on the outer side of the mounting piece, and there is a problem that the assembling work becomes complicated. .

In this respect, for example, as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-44652, the mounting piece portion of the cover body and the reinforcing plate are formed with concaves and convexes which engage with each other, so that the reinforcing plate can be easily positioned. The configuration is known. However, in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-44652, it is difficult to hold the reinforcing plate on the mounting piece and temporarily fix it, and it is necessary to support the reinforcing plate until the rivets are fastened. Since the unevenness of the mounting piece of the cover body is undercut during molding, there is a problem that the mold structure becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost increases.

Further, for example, as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-11458, a fitting portion that engages with a cover body is formed on a side wall portion of a base plate, and a fitting piece portion of the cover body is engaged. There is known a configuration in which a fitting portion is provided as a recess and a plurality of connecting members that engage with the fitting portion and the engaged portion are used. However, in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-11458, the structure of the connecting tool is complicated, the number of parts is increased, and the attached portion of the mounting piece of the cover body is undercut during molding. There is a problem that the mold structure becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost rises.

[0007]

As described above, in the structure disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-44652, it is difficult to hold the reinforcing plate on the mounting piece and temporarily fix it, until the rivet is fastened. There is a problem that the work for supporting the reinforcing plate is required and the unevenness of the mounting piece of the cover body causes an undercut during molding, which complicates the mold structure and increases the manufacturing cost. In addition, the actual Kaihei 7-11458
In the configuration described in the publication, the structure of the connecting tool is complicated, the number of parts is increased, and the engaged portion of the mounting piece of the cover body is undercut during molding, which complicates the mold structure, It has a problem of increasing manufacturing cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device which can easily and firmly fix a cover body by using a reinforcing plate.

[0009]

An air bag device according to a first aspect of the present invention is an air bag that is inflated and expanded by gas, a covering portion that covers the air bag, a mounting piece portion that projects from the covering portion, and the air bag device. A cover body provided with a connecting plate portion projecting from the covering portion and connecting the covering portion and the mounting piece portion, a supporting member having a supporting piece portion abutting on one surface of the mounting piece portion, and the connecting plate portion A reinforcing plate that is engaged with and is held by the other surface of the mounting piece portion and abuts on the other surface of the mounting piece portion; and a fixture that fixes the support piece portion, the mounting piece portion, and the reinforcing plate to each other.

In this structure, the airbag is covered by the cover body, and when the airbag is inflated and deployed, the covering portion of the cover body is broken from a predetermined portion to project the airbag, and the occupant of the automobile. And protect. Further, the strength of the cover body is improved by the connecting plate portion connecting the covering portion and the mounting piece portion. Then, the mounting piece portion of the cover body is sandwiched between the supporting piece portion and the reinforcing plate of the supporting member, and the supporting body portion, the mounting piece portion, and the reinforcing plate are fixed by the fixing tool, so that the cover body is firmly fixed to the base plate. Fixed to.
Since the reinforcing plate is held by being engaged with the connecting plate portion, it is not necessary to work while supporting the reinforcing plate by hand when fixing the fixing tool, and the assembling work of the airbag device is facilitated. Further, since the reinforcing plate is engaged with the connecting plate portion that reinforces the cover body, it is not necessary to provide an undercut shape on the mounting piece portion of the cover body, and the reinforcing plate itself can also have a simple shape. Therefore, the manufacturing cost is reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the airbag device according to the first aspect, the connecting plate portion is provided with a groove portion that engages with the reinforcing plate.

In this structure, the reinforcing plate is securely held and self-supporting without the need for providing a complicated structure for engagement, which facilitates the assembling work.

The airbag device according to claim 3 is the airbag device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reinforcing plate is
An engagement groove for engaging the connection plate portion is provided.

With this structure, it is not necessary to provide a complicated structure for engagement, and the reinforcing plate can be made into a simple shape, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

An airbag device according to a fourth aspect is the airbag device according to any one of the first to third aspects, in which the reinforcing plate is provided with engaging pieces that engage between a plurality of connecting plate portions. .

With this structure, it is not necessary to provide a complicated structure for engagement, and the reinforcing plate can be made into a simple shape, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

An airbag device according to a fifth aspect is the airbag device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the reinforcing plate has a substantially rectangular flat plate shape.

With this structure, the reinforcing plate has a simple shape, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

An airbag device according to a sixth aspect is the airbag device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, in which the reinforcing plate is provided with a fitting piece portion that engages with a mounting piece portion of the cover body. is there.

With this structure, the reinforcing plate is held more reliably, and the assembling work is facilitated.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the airbag device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a steering wheel of an automobile. The steering wheel 1 has an annular rim portion 2, a boss portion 3 located inside the rim portion 2, and the rim portion 2 and a boss. The steering wheel main body 5 includes a plurality of spokes 4 connected to the portion 3 and the like. And the lower part of the boss portion 3 (vehicle body side)
Is provided with a boss fitted to a steering shaft (not shown) protruding from the vehicle body side and a boss plate integrally or separately provided on the boss. Above the boss plate (passenger side), a horn switch mechanism is provided. The airbag device 11 is attached via the above.

Next, the airbag device 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. The airbag device 11 in each drawing is shown in a state in which the upper and lower sides are reversed with respect to the use state, except for FIG. 2, in order to show the state of the manufacturing process.

As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag device 11 has a metal base plate as a supporting member.
It has 21. And on this base plate 21,
An upper plate portion 22 having a substantially flat plate shape and a support piece portion 23 bent downward from a peripheral portion of the upper plate portion 22 are formed. A circular hole-shaped inflator mounting hole 24 is formed in the central portion of the upper plate portion 22, and the bolt in-holes are located at four positions at regular intervals around the inflator mounting hole 24. A hole 25 is formed. In addition, the support piece 23,
It has a substantially rectangular tubular shape, and a plurality of locking holes 27 are formed at predetermined intervals, and from the support piece portions 23 located on both sides,
The bracket portion 28 extends downwardly. Then, with the bolts inserted into the mounting holes 29 formed in the bracket portion 28, the bracket portion 28 is fixed to the bracket provided in the horn switch mechanism or the like, and the airbag device 11 is attached to the steering wheel body 5. There is.

Also, 33 is an airbag, which is
Reference numeral 33 denotes a bag shape and is arranged on the upper surface of the upper plate portion 22 of the base plate 21 in a state of being folded small. A circular opening (not shown) is formed in the airbag 33, and a plurality of bolt through holes are formed around the opening. Furthermore, an annular retainer is inserted inside the airbag 33 through the opening,
With the opening of the airbag 33 aligned with the inflator mounting hole 24 of the base plate 21, as shown in FIG. 1, four mounting bolts (stud bolts) 37 integrally fixed to the retainer are attached to the airbag. 33 and the through holes 25 for the bolts of the base plate 21 to insert the base plate 21
It is adapted to project to the lower surface side of the upper plate portion 22.

Further, 41 is a cover body, and this cover body 41
Is a covering portion 42 having a substantially square shape in a plane for injecting a soft synthetic resin or the like to cover the boss portion 3 of the steering wheel body 5.
And a mounting piece 44 having a substantially rectangular tube shape protruding downward from the back surface of the covering portion 42, and a plurality of connecting plate portions (rib portions) 45 connecting the covering portion 42 and the mounting piece portion 44. And are integrally formed.

The covering portion 42 serves as a center pad of the steering wheel 1. A peripheral wall portion 42a curved downward from the outer peripheral portion is formed, and a back surface portion of the covering portion 42 is formed. A tearable tear line that is recessed in a substantially H-shaped plane and has a thin wall is formed on the.

Further, the mounting piece portion 44 is formed in a substantially quadrangular cylindrical shape so as to project inside the peripheral wall portion 42a, and locking holes 47 are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

Further, the connecting plate portion 45 includes the front and rear peripheral wall portions 42a.
And a mounting piece portion 44 are connected to each other in the form of a plate, which is projected from the covering portion 42 in the same direction (downward) as the mounting piece portion 44. Also,
Five connecting plate parts 45 are arranged at a predetermined interval before and after the mounting piece part 44, respectively, and are orthogonal to the mounting piece part 44, that is, the connecting plate parts 45 are arranged in parallel with each other. Of these connecting plate parts 45, the central connecting plate part 45
A groove portion 48 that opens to the lower end is formed along the outer peripheral surface of the mounting piece portion 44 in the pair of connection plate portions 45 adjacent to each other.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 5, 51 and 51 are reinforcing plates (auxiliary plates), and these reinforcing plates 51 and 51 are formed of a metal plate or the like and have a rectangular flat plate shape. The eggplant body 52 is provided. And, in this main body 52,
The engaging holes 53 are formed at predetermined intervals, and a pair of engaging pieces 55, 55 are extended from one long side.
An engagement groove 56 is formed between 55 and 55. The engaging grooves 56 of the reinforcing plates 51 are engaged with the central connecting plate portion 45 of the connecting plate portions 45 arranged side by side, and the pair of engaging pieces.
55 and 55 are engaged with the groove portion 48, and the reinforcing plate 51 is
The mounting piece portion 44 is positioned along the outer side surface thereof to be engaged and held, that is, temporarily fixed.

Although not shown, the inflator for injecting gas has a substantially cylindrical main body, and a plurality of gas injection ports for injecting gas are provided at predetermined intervals on the peripheral surface of the upper portion of the main body. Has been formed. In addition, this inflator is provided with a plate-shaped flange portion, and a bolt through hole (not shown) is formed in the flange portion so as to correspond to the bolt through hole 25 of the airbag 33 and the base plate 21. .

When assembling the airbag device 11, first, as shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 33 folded and inserted by the retainer 36 is placed on the base plate 21, and the mounting bolts 37 are attached to the base plate 21. Through hole for bolts 25
Fix it by protruding from.

Then, covering the airbag 33,
The cover body 41 is covered from the upper side of the base plate 21, and the attachment piece portion 44 of the cover body 41 is fitted to the outside of the support piece portion 23 of the base plate 21 to align the locking holes 27 and 47.

Then, with the mounting piece portion 44 of the cover body 41 facing upward, as shown in FIG. 3, the reinforcing plate 51 is press-fitted along the outer surface of the mounting piece portion 44. In this state, the reinforcing plate 51
The engaging groove 56 of is engaged with the central connecting plate portion 45 of the connecting plate portions 45 arranged side by side, and the pair of engaging pieces 55, 55,
Each is engaged with the groove portion 48 between the mounting piece portion 44 and the connection plate portion 45, and the tip ends of these engaging pieces 55, 55 abut the end portion of the groove portion 48. In this state, the reinforcing plate 51 is positioned at a predetermined position along the outer side surface of the mounting piece portion 44, and is engaged and held, that is, temporarily fixed, so as to stand by itself.

Therefore, in this state, without changing the top and bottom, the rivet R as a fastener is inserted into the locking holes 27, 47 and 53 which are communicated with each other and caulked, and the space between the support piece portion 23 and the reinforcing plate 51 is fixed. The support piece portion 23, the attachment piece portion 44, and the reinforcing plate 51 are fixed to each other with the attachment piece portion 44 sandwiched therebetween.

The inflator has a base plate 21.
From below, while inserting the mounting bolt 37 into each bolt through hole, through the inflator mounting hole 24 and the opening,
The main body of the inflator is pushed into the inside of the airbag 33, and the flange is brought into contact with the lower surface of the base plate 21. Further, by screwing a nut to the lower end of the mounting bolt 37 and tightening it, the airbag 33, the base plate 21, and the inflator are jointly fixed and connected between the retainer and the nut.

Then, in this state, the assembly of the airbag device 11 is completed, and the completed airbag device 11 is fixed to the steering wheel body 5 with bolts or the like, and is connected to the vehicle body side with the lead wire or the like. Electrically connected to the electrical components of.

When a vehicle collides, a igniter of an inflator is activated by a signal from a collision diagnosing unit (not shown), and the propellant charged is made to react, so that a gas injection port formed on the peripheral surface. From airbag 33
Nitrogen gas or the like is rapidly injected into the interior of the air bag, and the folded airbag 33 expands rapidly. Then, due to the inflation pressure of the airbag 33, the covering portion 42 of the cover body 41 is cleaved along the tear line to form a pair of front and rear door pieces, and further, the door pieces rotate back and forth. Airbag
33 is formed so that the airbag 33 can be inflated and deployed to the front side of the occupant.

Then, the airbag device 11 according to the present embodiment.
According to the above, the mounting piece portion 44 of the cover body 41 is
The cover body 41 is firmly fixed to the base plate 21 by being sandwiched between the support piece portion 23 and the reinforcing plate 51 of 21 and by fixing the support piece portion 23, the mounting piece portion 44, and the reinforcing plate 51 with the rivet R. You can Since the reinforcing plate 51 is retained by engaging with the groove portion 48 of the connecting plate portion 45 and is self-supporting, it is not necessary to support the reinforcing plate 51 by hand when fixing the rivet R and the like. The assembling work of the bag device 11 can be facilitated.

Further, since the reinforcing plate 51 is engaged with the connecting plate portion 45 provided to reinforce the cover body 41,
It is not necessary to provide a complicated structure for holding the reinforcing plate 51 on the cover body 41, it is not necessary to provide an undercut shape on the mounting piece portion 44 of the cover body 41, and the number of parts is not increased, and the reinforcement is performed. The plate 51 itself can also be a flat plate and have a simple shape, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the engaging piece 55 is extended from the reinforcing plate 51 to provide the engaging groove 56. However, for example, as shown in FIGS. Reinforcement plate with only rectangular flat plate-shaped main body 52 without 55 and engagement groove 56
It is also possible to use 61 to engage with the locking grooves 48 formed in the plurality of adjacent mounting piece portions 44 to temporarily fix them. Then, by using the reinforcing plate 61 whose shape is simplified in this way,
It is also possible to improve the material removal, the yield, etc. and reduce the manufacturing cost. Further, in this configuration, positioning can be performed by bringing the longitudinal end portion of the reinforcing plate 61 into contact with the connecting plate portion 45 in which the groove portion 48 is not formed.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a reinforcing plate 64 having a notch 63 in the main body 52 is used.
The 63 may be engaged with the groove portion 48 of the connection plate portion 45 so as to be meshed with each other to be self-standing. In addition, in this configuration, the notch portion 63 and the groove portion 48 engage with each other to perform positioning in two directions, and at the same time, reduce the depth dimension of the groove portion 48 of the connection plate portion 45 to connect. It is possible to easily and appropriately set the strength of the plate portion 45. In FIG. 9, L1 is the depth dimension of the groove portion 48, L2 is the depth dimension of the notch portion 63, and the dimension L, which is the sum of these dimensions L1 and L2, is the dimension of the engaging (holding) portion. Become.

Further, for example, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, elastic deformation is possible from the long side of the main body 52 opposite to the side on which the engaging pieces 55, 55 and the engaging groove 56 are formed. It is also possible to use the reinforcing plate 71 in which the fitting pieces 68, 68 bent in a U shape are extended. Then, these fitting pieces 68 are fitted so as to sandwich the mounting piece portion 44 of the cover body 41 and the support piece portion 23 of the base plate 21 so that the reinforcing plate 71 is more securely temporarily fixed and becomes independent. be able to. In addition, in the configuration shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the engagement groove 56 has the connection plate portion.
The engaging piece 45 is engaged with the mounting piece portion 44, but the engaging piece 55, 55 is not formed with a groove portion, but the engaging pieces 55, 55 are engaged in the same manner as the configuration shown in FIG. The groove portion 48 can also be formed.
Further, unlike the reinforcing plate 75 shown in FIG. 12, one engaging piece that is engaged between the adjacent connecting plate portions 45 without forming the engaging groove.
It is also possible to form only 55 to simplify the structure.

Furthermore, the present invention can be applied not only to the airbag device 11 mounted on the steering wheel 1 but also to an airbag device for a passenger in the passenger seat.

[0045]

According to the airbag device of the first aspect, the mounting piece portion of the cover body is sandwiched between the supporting piece portion of the supporting member and the reinforcing plate, and the supporting piece portion, the mounting piece portion, and the reinforcing plate. The cover member can be firmly fixed to the base plate by fixing the cover member with the fixing member. Since the reinforcing plate is held by being engaged with the connecting plate portion, it is not necessary to work while supporting the reinforcing plate by hand when fixing the fixing tool, and the assembling work of the airbag device can be facilitated. it can. Further, since the reinforcing plate is engaged with the connecting plate portion that reinforces the cover body, it is not necessary to provide a complicated structure for holding the reinforcing plate on the cover body, and the undercut shape is attached to the mounting piece portion of the cover body. It is not necessary to provide, and the reinforcing plate itself can have a simple shape, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to the airbag device of claim 2,
In addition to the effect according to claim 1, since the connecting plate portion is provided with the groove portion that engages with the reinforcing plate, the reinforcing plate is reliably held and self-supporting without the need to provide a complicated structure for engagement.
Assembling work can be facilitated.

According to the airbag device of claim 3,
In addition to the effect according to claim 1 or 2, since the reinforcing plate is provided with the engaging groove that is sandwiched and engaged with the connecting plate portion, it is not necessary to provide a complicated structure for engaging, and the reinforcing plate is simple. It is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost.

According to the airbag device of claim 4,
In addition to the effect according to any one of claims 1 to 3, since the reinforcing plate is provided with an engaging piece that engages between the plurality of connecting plate portions,
Since it is not necessary to provide a complicated structure for engagement, the reinforcing plate can be made into a simple shape, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to the airbag device of claim 5,
In addition to the effect according to any one of claims 1 to 4, since the reinforcing plate has a simple rectangular flat plate shape, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to the airbag device of claim 6,
In addition to the effect according to any one of claims 1 to 5, since the reinforcing plate is provided with the fitting piece portion that engages with the mounting piece portion of the cover body, the reinforcing plate is held more reliably and the assembling work is facilitated. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of an airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a steering wheel equipped with the same airbag device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a part of the same airbag device.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 3 above.

5 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partial explanatory view showing another embodiment of the airbag device of the present invention.

7 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 6 above.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of a part of a disassembled state showing another embodiment of the airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of the above airbag device.

FIG. 10 is a partial exploded view showing another embodiment of the airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of the above airbag device.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view of a part of a disassembled state showing another embodiment of the airbag device of the present invention.

[Explanation of Codes] 11 Airbag device 21 Base plate as a support member 23 Support piece 33 Airbag 41 Cover body 42 Cover 44 Attachment piece 45 Connection plate 48 Groove 51 Reinforcement plate 55 Engagement piece 56 Engagement groove R Rivet as a fastener

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An airbag which is inflated and expanded by gas, a covering portion for covering the airbag, a mounting piece portion protruding from the covering portion, and a covering portion and a mounting piece portion protruding from the covering portion. A cover body provided with a connecting plate portion for connecting the connecting plate portion, a support member provided with a supporting piece portion that abuts on one surface of the mounting piece portion, and a holding member that is retained by being engaged with the connecting plate portion. An airbag device comprising: a reinforcing plate that comes into contact with a surface; and a fixture that fixes the supporting piece portion, the mounting piece portion, and the reinforcing plate to each other. 2. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the connecting plate portion is provided with a groove portion that engages with the reinforcing plate. 3. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing plate is provided with an engaging groove that engages with the connecting plate portion. 4. The airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing plate is provided with an engaging piece that engages between the plurality of connecting plate portions. 5. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing plate has a substantially rectangular flat plate shape. 6. The reinforcing plate is provided with a fitting piece portion that engages with a mounting piece portion of the cover body.
The airbag device according to any one of the above.